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0 pointsMediterraneo104y ago0 comments

I am convinced even had Reddit kept the old design, it would still suck now, because any site focused on a universal demographic will inevitably get most people coming in on mobile, and mobile inherently discourages longform text and encourages images.

I find that for various special-interest, hobbyist forums, you need some kind of friction to prevent low-effort posters from taking over, and ensure more people are participating from desktop/laptops. I have gone back some phpBB fora I have neglected after Reddit's ascent, and while there are fewer people around and they skew older, I am amazed at how substantial and competent discussions are compared to their subreddit counterparts.

0 comments

willis9364y ago

>mobile inherently discourages longform text and encourages images

As I read on a site on with no images or video and entirely in the form of thoughtful responses via mobile device.

Mediterraneo10OP4y ago

HN, as its name indicates, do not aim at a universal demographic. The demographic it does cater to is also very likely to use a keyboard heavily during the day, and so retains some good habits of longform discourse even when contributing via mobile.

willis9364y ago

Right so then the bad habits are not tied to mobile but is rather a cousin issue. Most people use mobile and, independently, longform discourse does not have mass appeal.

1 more reply

ImprovedSilence4y ago

That is not designed for mobile and does not have a mobile app.

the_lonely_road4y ago

I don’t want to argue, just maybe help you expand your horizons a bit. I am 85,000 words into my novel with almost all of those written on my IPhone using Scriviner. I like to sit in my backyard and actually purchased a big comfy writing chair recently.

After my last laptop broke I simply decided I didn’t need another one. Like most people on this site I have a beast of a desktop computer I write code on all day and then like to get away from to write my novel.

I’ve been able to maintain 2k words per day with some 5k days when I am really jiving with the scene I am writing. All from my iPhone. Times they are a changing.

Mediterraneo10OP4y ago

You are an outlier, writing a novel from a phone keyboard (and, of course, writing a novel at all). The general public that Reddit targets does not invest the same energy in longform text from their phones. The device you see as a means to relax and focus on your novel, for most Reddit users is a more cumbersome means of expression, and moreover most of them are operating within an app that encourages inane content.

dr_kiszonka4y ago

There was interesting study [0] about typing speed on mobile devices, which they say approaches physical keyboard typing (37k participants). If you have some time to kill, I wonder what your typing speed is [1]. Mine is near the mean.

0. https://userinterfaces.aalto.fi/typing37k/

1. https://typingtest.aalto.fi/

blacktriangle4y ago

Friction is a feature, so few people seem to get that.

j / k navigate · click thread line to collapse

0 comments

willis9364y ago

>mobile inherently discourages longform text and encourages images

As I read on a site on with no images or video and entirely in the form of thoughtful responses via mobile device.

Mediterraneo10OP4y ago

willis9364y ago

Right so then the bad habits are not tied to mobile but is rather a cousin issue. Most people use mobile and, independently, longform discourse does not have mass appeal.

1 more reply

ImprovedSilence4y ago

That is not designed for mobile and does not have a mobile app.

the_lonely_road4y ago

I’ve been able to maintain 2k words per day with some 5k days when I am really jiving with the scene I am writing. All from my iPhone. Times they are a changing.

Mediterraneo10OP4y ago

dr_kiszonka4y ago

0. https://userinterfaces.aalto.fi/typing37k/

1. https://typingtest.aalto.fi/

blacktriangle4y ago

Friction is a feature, so few people seem to get that.

j / k navigate · click thread line to collapse